State superintendent Sherri Ybarra has opened a public review process for the Idaho Core Standards in English and math.

As promised over the last two weeks, State Department of Education officials launched a website Wednesday so anyone can go in and read, review and rate the standards, which were adopted by the Legislature in 2011.

Known as the Idaho Standards for Learning Challenge, the online review process is scheduled to remain open until December.

Department of Education officials stressed the review is designed to gauge satisfaction with and appropriateness of specific standards, not serve as a sounding board for whether Idaho Core Standards or Common Core Standards in general are good or bad.

“…The Idaho Challenge is not intended to be a referendum on the Idaho Core Standards; only comments and actionable recommendations tied to specific standards will be considered,” department officials wrote in a news release issued Wednesday.

Once residents provide some basic information, such as whether they live in Idaho and whether they are a parent, teacher, student or resident, they will be able to review all the standards in both English and math.

The process functions a little bit like Facebook, where reviewers are asked to click a “thumbs up” icon or a “thumbs down” icon once they have read a complete standard.

Here’s an example, from the key ideas and details portion of the English language arts standards:

• “Analyze how and why individuals, events and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.”

At that point, reviewers either click the thumbs up or the thumbs down icon.

Reviewers may also search for specific standards and leave comments.

“The Idaho Challenge will not only allow stakeholders to be involved, but will also give parents, students, teachers, higher education and the public at large the opportunity to review the standards based on their experience over the past several years they have been taught in Idaho public schools,” education officials wrote in Wednesday’s news release.

The effort is part of a normal review process of all of Idaho’s academic standards — science standards were just reviewed earlier this year.

Once the online review process closes Dec. 15, a team of educators and education stakeholders will review the comments and feedback and have the opportunity to recommend changes to the State Board of Education.

Anyone wishing to participate in the review process may do so by clicking here.